Learn How to Set Achievable Goals for the New Year

The New Year is the perfect time to start fresh. If there’s any aspect of your life that you’d like to improve, set clear and realistic goals for yourself that will help you get there. Take It Slow Work towards your goal one piece at a time. It’s important to take it slow and not […]

The New Year is
the perfect time to start fresh. If there’s any aspect of your life that you’d
like to improve, set clear and realistic goals for yourself that will help you
get there.

Take It Slow

Work
towards your goal one piece at a time. It’s important to take it slow and not take on too much at
once. The main reason that some people fail when it comes to their New Year’s
goals is that they fail to plan out a realistic path.

Create a
Plan

It’s easy to say:
“I want to lose 20 pounds”
or “I want a new job.” Keep
in mind that big goals like these will take some time and effort. Diets are
hard to start because you may feel unmotivated or hungry. Finding a new job
takes at least six months and can sometimes feel like having a second job.

Remember that
the beginning is tough. Muster up the courage and enthusiasm to continue
with your efforts. Remember that most people give up, but you’re
not most people, are you?

You’re different
because, unlike most people, you’re going to create a clear and realistic plan to
take you right to success. If you’re going to lose 20 pounds, define how you’re
going to lose those pounds. Are you starting an exercise routine? How many
times a week are you going to work out? Are you going to join Weight Watchers
or count calories? Be as detailed as possible. Map it out into monthly, weekly,
daily steps. Put those steps on your calendar. Having things you want to
accomplish on your calendar helps with staying accountable to yourself.

You know that
you won’t lose the weight quickly; it’s a steady loss that brings success. Even
if you’re short a couple of pounds on one of your short-term goals, you can revise
your plan and kick up the pace, or just continue on your path because you’ll
reach your 20 pound goal before the year is out. That’s what you’ll be able to
accomplish with a solid plan in place.

Be Real

You have to
stay realistic when it comes to your New Year’s goals. The holidays are a
joyful time, and often times you’ll feel motivated to achieve something big.
Know that you can achieve big things,
but there are also only 24 hours in a day. Break the goal down
into weekly steps that eliminate feeling overwhelmed. It provides you with
action items that will help you lose the weight or find that new job.

Avoid making
goals that would take more than a year to complete. If you want to make a long-term
goal like this, break it up into parts and give yourself a realistic plan for
your first year goal.

Be Accountable

Find a friend,
colleague, family member that will help you stay accountable to the steps you
have set out for yourself. Check-ins monthly, weekly, daily, make it work for
you.

Visualize the
Outcome

When you run
into snags in the road, as you’re bound to in life from time to time, it will
help to visualize yourself reaching your end goal. Visualizing it
makes it feel real and motivates you to continue to work hard to make it
happen.

The Right
Attitude

If you’re
practicing the right attitude, you can go far. It’s true that all you
need to do is believe in yourself. You’ve probably realized that if you
don’t believe that you can accomplish something, you simply won’t. How can you
expect to achieve great things if you don’t believe in yourself?

An optimistic
attitude is critical to your success. Think about how you felt when you first
set your New Year’s goal. Chances are that you had an excellent attitude, so
try to maintain that mindset throughout your journey to success with your goal.

Once you’ve
determined a realistic goal and divided it up into short, achievable steps,
you’re bound for success as long as you take action to complete each step. Go
ahead and make that New Year’s resolution, knowing that this year is going to
be your most successful yet!

If you would
like help breaking down your goal and staying accountable, happy
to help!

Bryan Nadeau, CEO and Founder of Vision to Reality Coaching,
is an ICF Associate Certified Coach with
extensive experience as an entrepreneur, cross-functional team leader, manager
and individual contributor. Helping You Get Excited About Mondays Again!™

Helping leaders, managers, and up-and-coming
talent develop and expand new perspectives, attitudes, skills and behaviors for
career success and performance gains. Through a program that helps individuals
and teams go from goal to result, positioning individuals and teams in the most
impactful and effective manner to proactively achieve results.

Bryan Nadeau, principal of Vision to Reality Coaching, is an ICF Associate Certified Coach with extensive experience as an entrepreneur, cross-functional team leader, manager and individual contributor. Bryan changes people’s lives. He helps people see their world differently and they create results that looked impossible a moment before. When Bryan connects with clients, he intuits untapped potential and identifies potential areas for growth and development. In his coaching practice, Bryan consistently leads clients to embrace change, highlight their strengths and discover their hidden talents.

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